A STRANGE DISCOVERY.
The following morning opened bright and beautiful; all rose early, and
after a light breakfast again took up the journey. Gip had sufficiently
recovered to be allowed to go, and as it was intended that for the first
few days’ the marches were to be short in order not to fatigue Enola, it
was thought best for her to ride in the large howdah on Gip’s back, for
the motion would be less and the position more comfortable than it would
be on the back of a zebra. So Gip was happy in carrying the precious
burden, and strode out at the head of the large cavalcade as proud as
any of them, with scarcely any sign of lameness left. Onrai had also
mounted an elephant so as to be on a level with Enola, for the idea of
trying to keep up a conversation when he was riding some feet below her,
was entirely out of the question.
Harry preferred his zebra, notwithstanding this left the field entirely
open to Onrai. Still, he thought it might as well be thus, for Enola
might look on his riding near her as an intrusion, and this would hurt
his cause far more than it would help it.
Mrs. Graham and Nellie were both on elephants this morning, Mrs. Graham
being stretched out in a half reclining position, enjoying to the
fullest the comforts of the huge howdah and easy motion of the elephant.
Mr. Bruce, Mr. Graham and Harry rode well on ahead of the rest of the
party, and Sedai was directly in their rear. The story of his hard ride
from the city, when bringing the message from the high priest, he had
kept silent on for a long time, but Mr. Bruce finally prevailed upon him
to tell how he had been chosen as a courier. His story was substantially
this:
“I was standing just before the terrace when I saw the body of men come
up. I heard them make the demand and knew that they would make trouble.
I heard one of the number say that it was because of Enola having made
the King sin by wishing to marry her, she knowing that the King could
not marry. I then remembered having heard one of the men, whom I had
talked with in the city, say that the law did not forbid the King
marrying a woman of another country. I heard Onrai tell them to wait
until morning. I then determined to ride to the city and look up the man
who had made this remark. After the men had withdrawn, I stole to the
stable, and jumping on my zebra started for the city. I rode hard and it
was still night when I reached there. I found the man after considerable
trouble and he told me that that was his opinion only, but that the
people had decided that the King could not marry, and he must believe
this as did they. He told me to go to the high priest. While on my way
to the Temple some of the populace saw me, and fearing that I had broken
away from those who had been sent to kill our party, they pursued and
overtook me at the base of the terrace steps which led to the Temple. I
fought hard but they overpowered me and bore me into the Temple. The
high priest came forward and asked me how it was that I was not with my
friends. I told him as well as I could, for I knew little of the
language, that there was a doubt regarding the law governing the King’s
marriage; that I had been sent to him with the request that he examine
carefully this law and give me his decision and let me bear it to the
King. The high priest left us for a few moments and then came back and
handing me a piece of parchment, commanded the people to leave me go,
and bade me ride with all speed to the King and my friends.
“The priest was very much agitated as he said this to me, and kept
urging me to use all speed. I rushed down the steps and jumped on one of
the zebras of the natives, mine being winded, and never stopped until I
had reached the villa.”
This was the story Sedai told in his quiet and unassuming way and he
never seemed to realize that he had, by his quick forethought, put into
immediate action, saved the lives of his friends. And Sedai had ever
since this held a new place in the hearts of the party and Onrai himself
seemed to look on the Abyssinian as one who had done him a personal act
of kindness which could never be repaid. He was a hero, was Sedai, and
it was decided by the party that although he might never again have an
opportunity to help them in a like way, still it was good always to have
him with them, and upon their telling him this he said that he would
never again leave them; not even for a day. And so he was one of the
party to-day, his sturdy figure riding the zebra like a native.
The journey would occupy some ten days yet and it was decided to travel
early in the morning and in the cool of the evening; spending the warm
part of the day in one of the villas en route, as they had on previous
marches. The storm’s track could be seen very plainly from the avenue
and a large body of men were still employed cleaning away the debris. A
remarkable thing about the terrible storm was that it had not killed a
single human being. Some had been very badly injured, but these had all
recovered or were recovering, so that not one death could be laid to the
storm; many animals had been killed and it was expected that many of the
wild animals in the hunting reservation had also been killed, but this
had not yet been ascertained, as none had gotten as far as the
northwestern part of the country, where the storm was supposed to have
started.
It would remain with Onrai and his party to ascertain this.
All was life and happiness this beautiful morning and all thoughts of
the storm had been relegated to the past. On their right stretched the
lake, its clear waters stretching far to the north; on the left were the
farms and pastures, through which the storm had ploughed its way; on
ahead of them, as far as the eye could reach, stretched out the shaded
avenue; way off to the northwest could just be seen in the blue
distance, hardly perceptible, the faces of the cliffs, and at the base
of these cliffs was their destination, and there too were the points of
interest, which the party were to see before their return.
“The journey for the next few days will be uneventful enough, will it
not?” said Mr. Graham, as he pulled up for a moment alongside of Onrai’s
elephant.
“Yes, we will have little to break the monotony between here and the
field of brilliants, but the country is beautiful and I think you will
find it all interesting,” said Onrai.
“It is all interesting to me,” said Mr. Graham, “but I wished to know if
there was anything of special interest, such as mines and quarries.”
“No, nothing of that kind,” said Onrai, “but wait a minute; there is a
deserted mine or something, which has never been explored by any of my
people, since I can remember, and I cannot tell whether it be a mine or
well or natural hole in the ground. It is about the width of the avenue
and goes down, down, down, far below where the eyes can reach. I have
only looked down this dark hole when I have been passing and know
positively nothing about it, but if you would like to do so, we will
halt there to-morrow and go down with ropes and explore it as far as we
can. A villa stands near in which the ladies can wait for us.”
“I should like to see what this curious place is,” said Mr. Graham.
“Well, then, it is settled, we will explore it to-morrow,” said Onrai.
Mr. Graham again rode up alongside of Mr. Bruce, and telling him of the
hole in the ground, had his interest aroused at once. All along the
track of the storm many men were at work, but for some time past none
had been seen.
“It is strange, is it not?” asked Harry of Mr. Bruce.
“Yes, decidedly so,” said Mr. Bruce.
“But, look, what is that in the distance?”
“It looks like a body of men,” answered Harry.
“Perhaps they have congregated there for some special work.”
No further comment was made about these men. They could now be plainly
seen standing in a circle. They were not working as far as could be
seen, but were standing with heads bowed as if contemplating something
on the ground before them. They now saw the King and his party
approaching, and one of their party hurried to the avenue and came
towards the travelers.
“He seems to be excited over something,” said Mr. Graham.
“Yes, he acts differently than most other men I have seen in this
country,” said Mr. Bruce.
“May be they have made a discovery.”
“Something agitates him,” said Harry, “that is sure.”
The man now came near, and seeing that it was the King and his party he
stopped, and making a respectful bow, said:
“I have come, oh, King, not knowing that you was of the party, to call
attention to a strange being which we have found in the field. We know
not whether it be human or not, and we would ask you to look at it and
tell us how to act with it.”
“Go, we will follow,” said the King, and the party followed the man from
the avenue into the field to the left.
The body of natives moved, upon seeing the King and party approaching,
to one side, disclosing the object which had so interested them. The
party looked and saw the body of an African negress with a child
strapped to her back.
But how had it gotten here?